• There is no better way to remind yourself as to why you quit smoking than to be stressed, frustrated, and pissed off, stop at a Stop-n-Stab, buy a pack of Marlboro Reds, and try to smoke one in the parking lot.  
  • Yes, it’s been one of those days.
  • No, I didn’t finish it, and the pack went in the trash.
  • Yuck.
• The wood shed is done.  At least it’s mostly done.  I need to put up a couple more braces on the inside, and I will have to construct the doors for it come spring, but it’s up, solid, and ready to be filled with firewood.
  • No pictures other than the one I put up earlier.  I’m not particularly proud of the job I did on this one.  It’s rough, it’s not fancy, and it’s not pretty.
  • It did, however, give me an idea on how to construct some storage bins that I need to make this summer.
• Next big outdoor project – Knock down, remove, and replace a 20+ foot by 4 foot by 2 foot solid concrete retaining wall that is listing about 10 degrees outward.
  • I may nibble at that one over several months.  Of course, if my neighbors and wife were of a more forgiving nature, I could probably crater it in a few minutes, but they have hangups about pressure waves and loud noises.

• The wood shed is coming along nicely.  I have the frame built and the floor on.  Tomorrow I finish everything but the doors.
• Shopping list for the shed:
  • 6 x 8 foot 4×4 posts
  • 4 x 10 foot 2×4’s
  • 2 x 8 foot 2×4’s
  • 31 x 8 foot 2×6’s
  • 5 bags of gravel for drainage under the shed
  • Decking screws
  • Lag screws
  • 6 pack of beer
  • 3 bandaids
  • 1 pair of tweezers
• I got all that on one cart in Lowe’s.  It took every ounce of oomph I had to get it moving once I was loaded up, but I did it.
  • Should I have done it in two trips?  Probably.  But why not take the opportunity to practice my Sisyphus imitation?
• That may not sound like much, but I could have bought an M-1 Garand at CMP for what I spent on lumber today.
  • Being responsible sucks
• The number for the day is 27.  That’s the number of trips it took from my truck to the back of the property to get everything back where I needed it.
  • Girlie Bear had gone to the mall by the time I got home from the lumber yard and Irish Woman was packing up to go visit her aunt.
• There’s something kind of nice to come into the house after working outside all day and smell turkey and stuffing cooking.
• Boo term of the day – “popcorn store” – noun – The place where mom and dad take him to eat popcorn in the dark while someone plays a movie on the wall.
• We’re watching “Brave”, and I have to say that I object to the manner in which it portrays grumpy male bears.

Actually, two days.

• My turkey with nipples was a big hit.  I’m worried what the crowd we enjoy Thanksgiving with will ask for next year.
• On Wednesday night, I was the designated driver, drank three whole cans of ginger ale, and woke up with a hangover the next day.  Thursday I drank three large glasses of red wine and a bourbon and coke, then woke up feeling fine this morning.  Not sure what’s going on there.
• Moonshine spent all day yesterday walking around the house trying to figure out where that wonderful aroma was coming from.  The older dogs just sat and watched, knowing that eventually, turkey would be theirs.  Wisdom does come with age.
• One of the little pleasures in life is sitting in a garage, smoking cigars, sipping whiskey, and comparing guns.
• The day after Thanksgiving is an excellent time to stock up on pumpkin and fresh cranberries.
• Tomorrow I begin work on a new wood shed.  Whoopie.
  • Need to get the new shed built because we’re a bit low on firewood, and I don’t want to get a bunch more and then have to move it out of the old place.
  • Did I get this work done during the warm part of the year?  Of course I didn’t.  That would be intelligent.
• One of Irish Woman’s nieces brought her boyfriend over to the family gathering today.  If the young man can survive the interrogation he got from the uncles and older cousins today, he might be worth something.
• I never thought I’d be glad to get gas for $2.96 a gallon, but today I was.
• Tomorrow is Thanksgiving II: The Reckoning.  I promise to not violate this turkey like I did the last one.